What is the difference between a primer and a setting spray?

A primer goes on before makeup to smooth the skin and help products adhere; a setting spray goes on after to melt powder into the base and extend wear. One prepares the canvas; the other seals the work.

What does 'baking' mean in makeup?

Pressing a thick layer of loose powder onto concealed areas, leaving it for several minutes while the skin's warmth sets the concealer, then dusting the excess away. It gives a very set, matte finish and is used sparingly on mature or dry skin.

What is a cut crease?

An eyeshadow technique where a sharp line of concealer or a light shade is drawn along the crease to separate the lid from the socket, then the lid is filled with a contrasting colour. It creates a defined, graphic eye.

What is the waterline?

The wet rim of skin along the inner edge of the eyelids, between the lashes and the eye. Kajal and tightlining are applied there. It is the most infection-sensitive place makeup touches, so hygiene rules are strictest.

The fixed hue beneath the skin's surface — warm (golden), cool (pink), neutral or olive (green-grey). It is matched before depth when choosing foundation, and it decides which blush and lipstick colours flatter.

Glossary

Makeup Glossary A–Z: professional terms explained

12 September 2026

Every term a makeup student meets, defined in plain language. Where a term has its own article in this knowledge hub, the definition links to it. The glossary grows as the hub grows; terms are added when a student, a bride or a reader asks what a word means.

A

Airbrush makeup — Makeup applied as a fine mist from a compressor-driven gun rather than by brush or sponge. A method, not a product type. See What is Airbrush Makeup?.

Alcohol-based (airbrush) — Airbrush formula using isopropyl alcohol as the solvent; dries instantly, waterproof, used for body art and effects, not facial foundation.

Almond eyes — Eye shape with outer corners slightly higher than the inner corners and a visible crease; suits almost every liner style.

Analogous colours — Colours next to each other on the colour wheel (copper, bronze, warm brown); they harmonise.

Applicator — Any tool that carries product to the face; professionals use disposable applicators for eyes and lips.

B

Baking — Pressing a thick layer of loose powder onto concealed areas for several minutes so the skin's warmth sets the product, then dusting away the excess. Gives a very matte, set finish; used sparingly on dry or mature skin.

Base — The skin-evening layer of makeup: primer, foundation, concealer and setting. See What is Foundation?.

BB cream — A tinted, sheer-coverage moisturiser with skincare additives ("beauty balm"). Sits at the sheer end of coverage.

Blending — Softening the edge of any product until it has no visible border. The skill that separates professional from amateur work.

Blush — Colour applied to the cheeks to imitate a natural flush; placement changes with face shape. See What is Contouring?.

Bronzer — A warm shade applied where the sun would naturally hit — high points of the cheeks, forehead, nose bridge. Not the same as contour.

Brow bone — The bony ridge under the eyebrow; a highlight point.

Buffing — Working product into the skin with small circular motions of a dense brush, for a seamless, thin layer.

Buildable — A product that can be layered for more coverage or intensity without caking.

C

CC cream — "Colour-correcting" cream: a sheer base with colour-correcting pigments, one step up from a BB cream.

Colour correction — Neutralising a discolouration with its complementary colour before foundation (green for red, peach or orange for blue-violet, yellow for purple, lavender for sallow). See Colour Correction Explained.

Colour wheel — The circle of hues (red, yellow, blue primaries; orange, green, violet secondaries) used to predict how colours mix and sit together. See Colour Theory for Makeup Artists.

Complementary colours — Colours opposite on the wheel; mixed, they cancel to neutral. The basis of colour correction.

Concealer — A more concentrated form of foundation for spot coverage; applied after foundation, where the foundation did not finish the job.

Contour — A cool, matte shade one to two steps deeper than the skin, placed in the recesses (under the cheekbone, temples, jaw) to imitate shadow. See What is Contouring?.

Coverage — How much of the skin's own colour a base hides: sheer, medium or full. Independent of finish.

Crease — The fold of the eyelid where the lid meets the socket; the zone where a "crease shade" is blended.

Cream contour — Contour in cream form; blends easily, sits in the skin, goes on before powder.

Cupid's bow — The double curve at the centre of the upper lip; a highlight point and the anchor for lip liner.

Cut crease — An eye technique that draws a sharp line along the crease with concealer or a light shade, separating the lid from the socket, then fills the lid with a contrasting colour.

D

Deep-set eyes — Eyes set back under a prominent brow bone; liner kept thin and close to the lashes.

Dewy — A finish with added light — reflective particles or emollients — reading as fresh, hydrated skin. Can read as oily under flash.

Downturned eyes — Outer corners lower than the inner corners; liner is angled upward to lift.

Dual-action (airbrush) — An airbrush gun whose trigger controls air when pressed and makeup when pulled back, for variable flow.

E

Emulsion — A stable mixture of water and oil (or silicone) phases; most liquid foundations are water-in-silicone emulsions.

Eyeliner — A defined line drawn along the upper (and sometimes lower) lash line. Pencil, gel, liquid, pen. See Eyeliner: types, tools and application.

F

Face shape — The proportion of forehead, cheekbones and jaw and the face's length: oval, round, square, heart, long, diamond. Decides contour placement.

Film former — An ingredient (acrylates and similar polymers) that helps a base adhere and resist transfer; the basis of long-wear formulas.

Finish — How the surface of a base looks once set: matte, satin or dewy. Independent of coverage.

Flashback — A white cast on the face in flash photographs, caused by light-reflecting ingredients — chiefly silica in HD powders and the mineral sunscreens zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. See What is HD Makeup?.

Foundation — The tinted base that evens skin colour. See What is Foundation?.

Full coverage — A base that hides most discolouration in one or two layers.

G

Gel liner — Eyeliner in a pot, applied with an angled brush; long-wearing and versatile.

Gradient lip — A lip with deeper colour at the centre fading to lighter at the edges.

Graphic liner — Bold, sharply defined eyeliner shapes, usually editorial.

H

Halo eye — An eyeshadow technique with a light shade at the centre of the lid and deeper shades at the inner and outer corners.

HD makeup — Finely milled, light-diffusing makeup applied in thin layers so it stays undetectable at high resolution. A product category and finish, not a method. See What is HD Makeup?.

Highlight / highlighter — A lighter shade placed on the points that catch light: cheekbone tops, nose bridge, brow bone, inner eye corner, cupid's bow.

Hooded eyes — Eyes where a fold of skin covers part or all of the crease when open; liner is drawn with the eye open and the wing angled above the fold.

Hue — The name of a colour's position on the wheel (red, blue-green). One of three colour properties with value and intensity.

I

Intensity (saturation) — How pure or muted a colour is. A "nude" is a low-intensity version of the lip's own hue.

Iron oxides — The red, yellow and black pigments that, mixed, give foundation its shade.

Isopropyl alcohol (70%) — The working disinfectant of a professional kit; effective at roughly 60–90% in water, not at near-pure strength. See Makeup Hygiene for Professionals.

K

Kajal / kohl — A soft, creamy, smudgeable pencil worn on the waterline and lower lash line; the base of most Indian bridal eyes.

Kit — The professional's full set of products and tools, organised for hygiene and speed.

L

Lash line — The edge of the eyelid where the lashes grow; the line eyeliner follows.

Lip liner — A pencil that defines and, if needed, reshapes the lip edge before lipstick.

Long-wear — A formula with film formers and volatile ingredients that set to a transfer-resistant film.

M

Matte — A finish with no shine; oil-absorbing.

Medium coverage — A base that clearly evens tone; blemishes soften but need concealer.

Monolid — An eye with no visible crease; liner is drawn thicker and extended outward.

Mousse foundation — An aerated cream foundation with a light, matte finish.

O

Olive undertone — A green-grey cast beneath the skin, common across South Asia; often mis-read as neutral. See Skin Undertone Explained.

Overtone — The surface impression of the skin today — tan, redness, sallowness — as distinct from the fixed undertone.

Oxidation — A foundation darkening or warming after application as volatile ingredients evaporate; why shade is judged after a two-minute wait.

P

Palette (mixing) — A clean steel or disposable surface onto which products are decanted with a spatula, so the product itself is never touched.

Powder (setting) — Loose or pressed powder that sets a base and controls oil; silica-based HD powders are near-colourless.

Primer — A product applied before foundation to smooth texture and help the base adhere; used where needed, not everywhere.

PSI — Pounds per square inch, the unit of air pressure; makeup airbrush compressors work at roughly 15–25 PSI.

S

Satin — A finish between matte and dewy that shows the skin's own light; the most common finish and the safest for photographs.

Setting spray — A film-forming mist applied after makeup to marry layers and extend wear.

Sheer — The lightest coverage; the skin's own colour shows through.

Silica — A spherical light-diffusing powder ingredient; gives HD powders their soft-focus effect and their flashback risk.

Silicone-based — A base or airbrush formula whose carrier is silicone fluid; silky, long-wearing, water-resistant.

Single-action (airbrush) — An airbrush gun whose trigger controls air only; makeup flow is preset.

Smokey eye — A diffused, gradient eye with the deepest colour at the lash line, blended upward and outward.

Soft focus — The blurring effect produced when spherical particles scatter light in many directions.

Spatula — A metal tool for decanting product to a palette; the single most effective hygiene habit.

Stick foundation — A wax-based solid foundation; medium-to-full coverage, matte to satin.

T

Tightlining — Lining the upper waterline so the lash line looks thicker with no visible line on the lid.

Titanium dioxide — The white pigment that gives foundation its opacity; also a mineral sunscreen that can cause flashback.

Transition shade — A soft, mid-tone eyeshadow blended above the crease to bridge lid colour and skin.

Transfer-resistant — A formula that, once set, does not rub off onto clothing.

U

Undertone — The fixed hue beneath the skin's surface: warm, cool, neutral or olive. Matched before depth. See Skin Undertone Explained.

V

Value — How light or dark a colour is; a contour is the skin's hue at a lower value.

Volatile silicone — A silicone (such as cyclomethicone) that evaporates after application, leaving pigment and film behind; the basis of long-wear bases.

W

Water-based (airbrush) — Airbrush formula with water as the solvent; gentle, breathable, matte-to-satin, not waterproof unless sealed.

Waterline — The wet rim along the inner edge of the eyelids between lashes and eye; where kajal and tightlining go. The most infection-sensitive site.

Water-in-silicone — The emulsion type of most modern liquid foundations: water droplets suspended in silicone.

Wing (winged liner) — The flick that extends eyeliner past the outer corner, angled along the line of the lower lashes.

Start Your Makeup Career

Join our professional makeup courses today

Enroll Now